Well it's back to work, and already Skype CEO Niklas Zennström has been talking to the BBC about, amongst other things, what to expect from Skype in 2007:

Today, most Skype users are using Skype on a computer. What we'll also see in the next few years is that more and more people will use Skype outside of the computer on mobile devices, wifi telephones, and other devices. Today most revenues are coming from voice calls. What we're also working on now is to develop other revenues, in terms of e-commerce and content.

Certainly there's going to be a real focus on hardware, and what better place to start than the world's largest consumer electronics show, CES, in Vegas next week?

A lot is being kept under wraps until the show, so you'll really have to wait until 10.30am PST next Monday morning, when the Skype guys and gals will as one tear themselves away from the one-arm bandits in the Venetian just long enough to hopefully announce some great new kit which will be making its way to retailers' shelves through 07.

2006 was in many ways the year that the Skype genie really escaped from the computer. We saw the first Skype phones which really didn't need a computer to run in the shape of both wifi phones from the likes of SMC, Netgear and Belkin, as well as a couple of cordless Skype phones which also act as normal landline phones from companies such as Philips and RTX and the totally unique wifi-powered Mylo from Sony. We've also seen significant new mobile versions of Skype and a major partnership with UK operator 3 to bundle Skype with a couple of key handsets.

However, as Niklas notes in his BBC interview, "Speed of innovation is going to increase because we have so many building blocks already in place"; Someone at Skype has obviously been polishing their PC, but now that the Skype genie has leapt out, where will it end up??

Obviously Skype have a roadmap for next year, but the questions for you are these: what new Skype hardware or improvements to existing Skype gadgets would you like to see next year? Where should Skype be focusing their efforts and which manufacturers do you see delivering truly exciting Skype products?

In the meantime, more from CES as we get it...